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"Tinker Bell" more magical than I thought it would be

Disney's direct-to-video sequels and spin-offs of its feature-length cartoons have acquired a bad reputation over the years. As any parent who has sat through them with their small children will tell you, the animation, storyline and characterization all seem to fall woefully short of the originals. In short, they usually, well... insert your own descriptive term here.

So when I got "Tinker Bell" in the mail, I was not enthused. Some of the sequel dreck that has come my way has been so bad; I couldn't watch enough of it to write a review. But when my two-year-old daughter woke up again early yesterday (a pattern we need to fix, but never mind), we decided to go watch a movie. I grabbed the Blu-ray of "Tinker Bell" and popped it in the player.

Of course, my daughter loved it, but I was predisposed to dislike it, so I was unimpressed at first. But as the story progressed, my interest sharpened. And by the end, I had to admit that while it wasn't a modern classic, "Tinker Bell" was worthy of the Disney label.

I'm sure there are plenty of young children who could have told me how it happens, but "Tinker Bell" starts off by revealing how fairies come to life; they are born of the laughter of children. They first appear in the Pixie Hollow, part of Neverland. Queen Clarion (voice of Angelica Huston) welcomes the new arrival and invites her to find out what work she is suited for by displaying a number of magical artifacts. The one that responds to her is a tinker's hammer, so she is christened "Tinker Bell."

Tinkers are the day laborers of Pixie Hollow; they create baskets and jugs for the other fairies to use in their annual pilgrimage to "the mainland" (in this case, London) to mark the beginning of spring. Tinker Bell (voice of Mae Whitman) shows an aptitude for the work, but she is very impressed with the work of the Nature fairies, who create things like rainbows and wind, add water droplets to spider webs, paint ladybugs, plant flowers and more. This leads to some job dissatisfaction, especially when Tinker Bell finds out that tinkers don't make the annual trip to the mainland.

Tink decides that her best shot is to change her skills, so she enlists the help of some nature fairies to teach her their professions, but the results are disastrous. In a grump, she goes to the shore and finds some "lost toys" that have washed up on the beach. Without really knowing how, she rebuilds a music box dancer. Her fairy friends see her rebuilding the toy and try to convince her that she is good at tinkering and should stick with that, but she becomes determined that they're all trying to put her in her place and storms off again.

Obviously, there's more to the story, but I don't want to spoil it for you. But by the end of the film, I was impressed on several fronts:

First, the quality of the animation was much more impressive than I thought it would be. I knew the film was computer-generated imagery (CGI), but I've watched enough "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" with my daughter to know that made-for-video CGI tends to be much simpler and blockier. "Tinker Bell" played like a Pixar film, smooth flowing and colorful. The reason for that was evident when I saw who the executive producer was: John Lasseter, the chief creative officer for both the Pixar and Disney studios.

According to the book, "The Pixar Touch," (which I reviewed for the Express-News a few months ago), Lasseter was part of a class of animators that learned their craft at Disney, along with director Tim Burton. Although he was seen as a rising star, he circumvented a few procedures and was let go. He took up a post at the fledgling Pixar at Lucasfilm and brought a cartoon animator's touch to the new science of computer animation. This served him and Pixar well, as beginning with 1995's "Toy Story" and continuing through today, he has proven that computer animation can be done well.

I also found the story engaging. Oh, it was predictable in parts, but I discounted that for the age the feature was aimed at. In the "Creating Pixie Hollow" featurette, Lasseter expands on what he wanted "Tinker Bell" to be; he wanted to know how she was born, where her name came from, what the magic of fairies did. I'd have to say that he succeeded.

The other extras aren't bad; the conventional animation "Magical Guide to Pixie Hollow" gives the viewer a more detailed overview of the realms within Pixie Hollow. It also gives you an idea of how this film might have been realized if it had been done in traditional 2D animation. The "Tinker Trainer," which is DVD-ROM (computer) based on the conventional DVD, but DVD-based on the Blu-ray; is a game that allows the user to practice being a fairy tinker. There's a music video performed by the Disney Channel's Selena Gomez; and a delightful live-action short, "Ever Wonder" with fairies "assisting" human children at play.

The question that consumers have to ask is if buying the Blu-ray is preferable to the conventional DVD. My reply is that it depends on your situation. The extra cost of Blu-ray is a factor, especially in these uncertain times. The picture quality of Blu-ray is certainly an impressive point in its favor, especially with its CGI source material.

I think the biggest factor in which version you buy depends on where your kids watch DVDs. If they watch them exclusively on the Blu-ray player and the HDTV set, then Blu-ray is ideal. If they're watching in the playroom on the old TV or in the car, then the conventional DVD might be a better option. If you buy both, Disney will be happy; but that option is yours to choose.

Tinker Bell is one of the signature Disney characters; the silent and headstrong partner to Peter Pan and later the magical mascot to the Disney empire, always waving her magical wand at the end of the opening credits to the "Wonderful World of Disney." She was portrayed capably by Julia Roberts in Steven Spielberg's 1991 film "Hook," which gave her a voice and human form, but didn't feel right to many aficionados of the original J.M. Barrie story and its Disney incarnation.

Now she's been recast as the star of the show, finally given a voice, and will be the centerpiece for at least three more planned "Fairies" videos. If this had been done the way that Disney's direct-to-video films have been done in the past, I would have despaired for the character. But with Lasseter at the creative helm of the Disney animation ship, I have hope for this and other future video efforts. Time will tell.

Tinker Bell
Disney, 78 minutes, G
DVD: $29.99
Blu-ray; $34.99

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